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In 1914, the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA) won the league championship. By agreement with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the Blueshirts played a series with the Victoria Aristocrats. The series was played without a formal challenge made to the Stanley Cup trustees by Victoria, the procedure followed until that time. If the Aristocrats had won the series, the team may not have been recognized as Cup champions. The trustees agreed after the series to make the final series playoff between the two leagues' champions the format to contest the Stanley Cup. The procedure continued after the NHA became the NHL.

From 1921, another league, the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) entered the play-offs, and a three-way playoff was used. The WHL and the PCHA merged and the final series became a two-team series again in 1924. The last final series that the WCHL competed in was in 1926, when the Victoria Cougars played off against the Montreal Canadiens. The WCHL was bought by the NHL after the series, and since the 1927, the Final series has been between two NHL teams.

Teams played in the NHL exclusively at the time they competed for the Stanley Cup unless marked otherwise. Bolded years denote Stanley Cup win.

^ 1. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Cup in 1918 as the Toronto Blueshirts, and in 1922 as the Toronto St. Patricks.^ 2. The Chicago Blackhawks were known as the Chicago Black Hawks prior to the 1986–87 season.^ 3. The Dallas Stars totals include two losses as the Minnesota North Stars.^ 4. The Anaheim Ducks totals include one loss as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.^ 5. The modern Ottawa Senators (1992–) are the namesake of the original Senators (1883–1934). ^ 6. The Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans totals include the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals that ended with a no-decision because of the Spanish flu epidemic.^ 7. The original Senators became the St. Louis Eagles (NHL) and the amateur senior Ottawa Senators (QAHA) in 1934.^ 8. The Vancouver Millionaires were known as the Vancouver Maroons from 1922 afterwards.^ 9. The Victoria Cougars were known as the Victoria Senators, Victoria Aristocrats and Spokane Canaries prior to 1922.</small>